“5.—MOSCHITES AURORÆ, new species.
(Pl. XII., fig. 9 ; Pl. XIII., figs. 10, 11, 12.)
Description:
Body firm, about as long as broad; rounded and swollen at the sides but flattened above, compressed dorso-ventrally, and with a conspicuous longitudinal groove below.
Pallial opening broad, extending fully halfway around the neck and terminating just below the posterior angle of the eyelid.
Head large, fairly well delimited, notably narrower than the body. Eyes large, prominently swollen.
Funnel stout, reaching just past the base of the arms, or about halfway between its posterior margin and the umbrella margin. Funnel organ well developed, almost
quadripartite, well separated in the median line, so that each of the two resulting divisions has an outline like a V, with broad but sharply pointed limbs (text fig. 14).
Arms of nearly equal length, about twice as long as the body, the order quite regularly 4 = 3, 2, 1; extremities attenuate. Dorsal arms rounded; laterals with obsolete keels, except the third right arm in the male, which has a well developed seminal fold. Suckers (text figs. 15. 16) of moderate size and very closely placed (about 46 on the right second arm of the type); uniserial, but toward the base of the arms occasionally subject to lateral displacement so that they appear superficially biserial in this region on one arm (the right third) of the type, and almost triserial on another (the right ventral); cups deep. Third right arm hectocotvlized. Umbrella well developed, of nearly equal extent all around, but best developed between the lateral arms and poorest between those of the ventral pair; extending along the arms for about a quarter to a third of their length.
Hectocotylus very minute, both calamus and ligula bluntly conical, the latter with five or six fleshy but mostly rather obscure transverse grooves (text fig. 16).
Surface very closely and harshly papillose over the entire dorsal integument, the papilla gradually diminishing in size and number laterally and absent from most of the ventral surface, though extending well down the umbrella and along the outer margins of the ventral arms. Individual papillæ small, mostly simple, bluntly conical in outline, and very distinct. There is a large, bluntly conical, papillose tubercle just above the posterior angle of the eyelid (text fig. 18), and a similar smaller one just above the anterior angle. A few scattered and very obscure tubercles larger than the ordinary papillæ occur elsewhere on the dorsum. A low, but very distinct subperipheral fold begins near the mantle margin and extends all around the body, forming a fairly accurate dividing line between the papillose and non-papillose areas.
Color of body a dark slaty grey above, clouded with dim mottlings of a warmer tint, but becoming very pale ventrally and on the inner surfaces of the arms. Chromatophores exceedingly minute, very closely and evenly distributed above, but invisible over much of the light-colored areas.
Beak stout, mandibles black (text fig. 19).
Radula well developed, but transparent, and takes stain poorly (potassium bichromate). Rhachidian teeth helmet shaped, with acute points and distinct lateral cusps. First laterals weakly developed, very indistinct in outline. Second laterals with triangular teeth. Third laterals with long, curved, knife-shaped teeth. (Text fig. 20.)
Measurements:
Type mm.
Juv. mm.
Total length
88
39
Tip of body to dorsal base of umbrella
36
15
Length of body
24
11
Width of body
25
13
Width of neck
19
10.5
Width across eyes
21
12
Length of funnel
13
5
Mouth to tip of right dorsal arm
50
29
Mouth to tip of left dorsal arm
49
23
Mouth to tip of right second arm
52
24
Mouth to tip of left second arm
51
22
Mouth to tip of right third arm
43
23
Mouth to tip of left third arm
54
22
Mouth to tip of right ventral arm
53
22
Mouth to tip of left ventral arm
55
21
Length of hectocotylus
2
-
Length of umbrella between dorsal arms
12
8
Length of umbrella between ventral arms
9
6
Type.—A male, Cat. No. C. 40891, of the Australian Museum [S.S.B. 437].
Type Locality.—Station VIII., Lat. South 66º8’, Long. East 94º17’; 120 fathoms, bottom of small granite rocks, January 27th, 1914; one ♂ specimen.
Remarks.—Though represented in the collection by only one mature specimen, this characteristic little species has no close resemblance to any of the other forms taken by the Expedition. In the heavy papillation of the body, as well as the characters of the hectocotylus, it appears to resemble most nearly the M. charcoti (Joubin) from the opposite side of the continent. The finer papillæ, their farther extent ventrally, the distinct peripheral fold, more slender arms, and paired cirri above the eyes, would seem, however, quite ample to distinguish it.
A single young specimen [S.S.B. 444] obtained at Station X., in 325 fathoms, is apparently referable to the same species, as it shares in the distinct papillation, peripheral fold, and other characters, while its proportionate dimensions are as nearly similar as could probably be expected.”
(Berry, 1917: 20-24)
“POSTSCRIPT
TO THE CEPHALOPODA OF THE AUSTRALASIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.
To the foregoing bibliography should be added the following titles:
JOUBIN, LOUIS.
:14. Céthalopodes. Deuxième Expédition Antarctique Française (1908-1910), p. 35-38, text fig. 1-4, Paris, 1914.
MASSY, ANNE L.
:16. Mollusca. Part II.—Cephalopoda. British Antarctic ("Terra Nova") Expedition, 1910, Natural History Report, Zoology, v. 2, p. 141-176, text 1-43, November 1916.
Neither of these very relevant papers was known to me (that of Miss Massy not having yet been published) at the time the above paper was prepared. The manuscript left my hands in April, 1916, and not until almost a year later did copies of their papers reach me from the respective authors. The evidence there offered, particularly the new figure of Moschites charcoti given by Joubin ( :14, text fig.1-2), inclines me strongly to the opinion that my M. aurorae is identical with it, though in the absence of the type specimen too positive an assertion in the matter might at this time be dangerous.
S. S. BERRY
Redlands, California.
December 2, 1918.”
